


You give me a meaning, something I can breathe in

by Kisekei_rin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Female pronouns for Pidge, Hey bruh y'all'd've better be ok w SWEARING bc Pidge does that, IT ISNT SHORT, It's basically only Pidge and Keith, Others will be there toward the ending of the fic, Pidge also being stupid, Pidge being badass, Pidge is now 17, Recovery and healing, Season 4 Spoilers, TW maybe? Pidge doesn't eat in the second chapter but it's not due to illness, Two years after s4, hopefully it's short?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-01-23 02:37:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12496708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kisekei_rin/pseuds/Kisekei_rin
Summary: Keith and Pidge, in the same situation with different means of ending up there.She, captured by the Galran empire, rejected by Voltron.He, lost on a mission, The Blade rejected by him.What can come from two ex-Paladins with a suspicion of foul play?Out of all possibilities, love was the least expected.





	1. I know, I know, I know

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Dua Lipa's 'homesick'.

Pidge had made a terrible mistake. 

It wasn't until her wrists were bound upright to a wooden board inside of a dingy, all-too-familiarly-coloured purple cell, that the reality of the situation began to settle. 

It was stupid and reckless. She was stupid and reckless. She'd jumped at the first opportunity, and it lead her half way across the other side of the universe inside some Galra cruiser; far too far from the comfort of her Voltron family. Who, by now, would've stopped their search for her.

After all, she was replaceable.

Banging her head on the wall behind her, she groaned in frustration. If she had only stayed a moment longer in the castle, she would have overheard Shiro's reasoning. If she had stayed longer, she wouldn't have gone off like a whippet with her anger and taken the next best thing to a lion out on the field; an uncloaked spacecraft. Then, she wouldn't have been caught, and she wouldn't be whisked away, and she wouldn't be alone in this dingy, dark, damp--

She scrunched her eyes tightly, a frustrated scream seeping through her clenched teeth. 

'This is your fault!'

She knew, she knew all too well, she knew it so well that it made her feel sick.

The final nail in the coffin, however, was amidst the fight in her spacecraft. 

When Keith was injured in the fight with Zarkon, it had been Red that came and saved him. When Keith wasn't around to pilot his lion, it was Black who allowed Shiro back in to take control of the danger. And on the flip side, it was Blue who refused Lance's entry when Red needed him as its pilot. 

The lions had their own wills that allowed them to do what's best during crisis, including saving their pilots. So why, when Pidge was thrust in the firing line of a Galra spacecraft, did Green not come? Why, when the laser scorched her skin, did her scream not reach anyone? Why, when Pidge was finally captured and brought aboard the cruiser, did she witness Green land with Matt between its jaws?

Why, when Pidge had been a Paladin of Voltron for two years, had they all chosen her brother over her?

 

\--

 

 

Keith had made a terrible mistake. 

It wasn't until his old scars with The Blade had finally stopped hurting, did he realise to what extent he'd messed up. 

Without a clear head, he'd dived head first into a situation which landed him on the other side of the universe. Away from The Blade, away from Voltron.

He hated himself. Banging his head against the wall of his new makeshift home, he yelled to anyone who would hear.

Like a repeat of his life on Earth, Keith was living in a shack in the middle of a dusty, scorching planet. The sun beat so hard on his back that the wounds from fighting with The Blade were struggling to be seen. 

A constant reminder of his failure.

It was one thing to give up Voltron, but the discovery of his mother's whereabouts sent Keith spiralling. The Blade, out of courtesy of Keith being one of their most valued members, had made it their priority to track her down. 

They weren't moving fast enough, in Keith's mind. 

But in reality, Keith was so far ahead that he'd become blind to reason. He'd lost his uniform, his knife, his pride, all within one fateful mission on a Galra cruiser. His mother was on there, supposedly as their prized prisoner. But upon hearing the prisoner was in fact human, Keith let thoughts of The Blade betraying him swirl in his mind. And then, in a fit of blind rage, he jumped on the nearest aircraft to a destination far from home.

Nothing came close to what his mind made him feel. Not even the cuts from constantly punching the wall, nor the raw sleep deprivation he had suffered. 

He'd lost every aspect about him about himself, stripped back down to square one.


	2. And the worst part is, there's no one else to blame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title from Sia's 'Breathe Me'  
> \--  
> Pidge had never been stronger.

"Prisoner V, out."

Pidge's eyes rolled round from staring at the ceiling to the guard at her door. Although her gaze was defiant through her dark, tired eyes, she dared not say anything in response. Instead, she sat her aching body upright and extended her arms as best she could in their tight restraints. The guard swiftly came in and exchanged Pidge's shackles for handcuffs, yanking her to her feet to walk with her.

Her legs, having become weaker, were unsupportive of the sudden shift in weight and buckled. But, as usual, she was towed along whether her body was ready or not. Just as she was thrusted out into the glaringly bright hallway, even when her head screamed in protest.

Unlike the other prisoners, Pidge was particularly isolated and sent to do work alone. The obvious reasoning being: she was a former Paladin of Voltron. She was not put in the company of any other inmates, nor was she allowed to talk with any of the guards for fear of them being persuaded into conspiring against Zarkon. Her work was running tests on the camera systems within the ship, on a restricted laptop in a tiny, monitored station. They took no chances, and treated her as if she was capable of doing anything and everything.

And she was.

Most of the other prisoners' minds would have crumbled at the boring day in, day out routine that was set for Pidge. But she saw it as an opportunity to devise the best means for escape. With her head down, her eyes would flicker about the hallways, looking for any changes in cameras and guards. When in her station, she was able to note down how and when each guard changed over their shift. And when given her laptop, she had access to all systems in the cruiser, allowing her to fully memorise its routine.

And like any other day, she was kept at the heel of a soldier who walked her to her room. She checked for any discrepancies in guards and cameras and unsurprisingly, found none. Which allowed her to begin phase one of her plan. A new sliver of information had made its way to Pidge. Minute in reality, but a whole world of difference for her.

The previous day, when arguing with a lower-ranked officer, the guard let slip that her laptop was changed each day to be checked. The lower ranked guard had been ordered to bring one with him already, and would replace it that lunch rather than the next morning. But, because it was an order from a higher up, it wasn't to be written down.

Which was perfect for Pidge. The blip in the system allowed for her plan to take place, and she needed to work fast.

The day previous, she created a whole system that shut cameras off and allowed her to pass through doors at certain times. The laptop would've remained in her station from lunch onwards without any other guards knowing, meaning she could save her work onto it and take it back to her room.

They came to another turn in the path, which Pidge took as her first step in the plan. With a silent nudge to her guard's belt, her keys fell to the ground. Disgruntled, the soldier bent down and left Pidge freely by herself. That was time enough for her to quietly take the guard's memory stick and get ahead into her room.

Quickly, she booted up the laptop to see her work from yesterday loaded on. And even quicker than that, she shut it down and hid it beneath her given robe.

Just as the schedule planned, her new laptop was delivered, and she was allowed to resume her daily work. Her eyes caught the guard's facial features, watching them for even the smallest change. None, they didn't notice, or they didn't care.

That was, until, the same low ranked soldier from the day previous had come hurling around the corridor and into Pidge's work station. All of her attention was on him, as she saw the panicked breaths and slight perspiration on his skin. His eyes, although hidden, darted around the room endlessly, until landing on Pidge. She felt his gaze harden on her, to which she returned with her usual tired look.

"You!" He began accusingly. Pidge just held her firm, yet resigned stare on him, aided by her exhaustion. "You must have that laptop!" Discreetly, she activated its cloaking device and slipped it under the table as she stood up for the guard, showing no signs of it. His jaw dropped as he struggled for words, his eyes hanging on every detail of her just to make sure. But as Pidge planned, he saw nothing.

"Are you done yet?" Pidge's main guard questioned, holding the door open.

"I-I don't understand! It should still be here because of that, that--!" He replied, turning on his heel to meet her gaze. She gave him one look up and down and did what seemed like an offensive gesture for him to leave.

"Yeah, well, generals like us are kind enough to cover for you rookies all the time. Now if you don't mind, Prisoner V has work to do." She closed the conversation completely.

"R-Right… sorry." He apologised, leaving Pidge's station hastily. She heard her guard tut in response, before the door was shut again, leaving her to her work. With her bare foot, she reached towards the laptop underneath the desk and slid it towards her. She bent as though she was stretching her back so the camera wouldn't see, and slipped it back under her robe.

With that finished, she resumed her daily tasks until lunchtime; when her guard came back in, dragging her frail body back onto the dull path to her cell.

The metal of her new equipment was icy on her back as she walked; it brushed up on the untreated laser wound she still had on her back. The sensation almost made her wince, a feeling much stronger than anything she had felt in a while. But it didn't last long once she was promptly locked back up in her shackles with a dish set in front of her.

Another repeat. Pidge wouldn't eat the food here after what happened the first time. They had laced it with a drug that sent Pidge into the back of herself. It left her a blank shell that complied with whatever was asked of her, and that sort of ability was far too powerful for the Galra to have over her.

Because of this, they wouldn't allow her to have a bed to sleep in. If she ate, they would transfer her room so she would be with others; but she knew that if she ate, she'd become their mindless pawn. Besides, why would she desire the company of other prisoners when she had the company of sleep deprivation and gnawing hunger?

Today, she wouldn't need their food or bed. If she was out by tomorrow, she could track the Castle of Lions in record time and have a real meal made by Hunk, and a nap in her own room. The thought made her smile weakly, before her mind attacked her again.

Why would they want her back if she wasn't needed? She wasn't a pilot anymore. She wasn't a Paladin either. And if Shiro had any say in it, she wouldn't even be on the castle.

Her smile faded quickly.

She had nobody else to blame but herself. After the ordeal with Keith and The Blade, Pidge had become suspicious of Shiro. Once he was able to pilot Black again, he was all for Keith leaving to join The Blade of Marmora. And only a day before Pidge was captured had Keith gone missing, and Shiro was adamant they didn't do anything about it.

And then, like Pidge needed anymore convincing, Shiro had spoke to Allura about switching her out for Matt. Her own brother would replace her after two years working as a Paladin.

It was unfair, so unfair, and Pidge was right to explode at them all.

'But not to have gone further and be captured.'

It was her fault. She knew it was her fault, and she had nobody to blame but herself. She knew that fact so well that it made her feel sick. The thoughts of her failures and regrets swam around her head. Pidge's mind had been starved for months, but these thoughts provided nothing but drilling.

'It's too dangerous to stay here'

Her voice of reason chimed in. She wasn't eating enough, drinking enough, or bathing at all. They gave her one set of clothes that acted like a tent on her petite body, providing no warmth. Her hair was left to grow on the castle, but she still got regular trims to keep it healthy. Now, the long locks stuck to her face and arms as a nuisance. It frazzled at the ends and would constantly get caught in everything.

She was in ill health. This place was killing her, and it would continue to do so either through drugging her into submission or letting her starve. If she let herself become their pawn with her extensive knowledge on Voltron's inner workings, who knows how powerful they'd become?

And however sore or damaged she felt by what happened with Green and Shiro, Pidge still cared deeply about her family. She would rather starve than sell them out. Or even better, escape.

But that begged the question: who was she?

Now that Pidge didn't have her Paladin status, she didn't have a brother to look for, she didn't have a family to go back to, there was nothing left.

'I can't go back, and I can't stay here.'

She had to move.

"Prisoner V, lunch is over." Her guard called into the cell. She shifted her crumpled position to be more upright as she stared at her. "Your work has been checked thoroughly, and it looks as if you've finished it for today. You may stay here." She stated, nodding and walking off.

Pidge almost flew up onto her feet.

'A complete change in routine.' As restrained as she was, she managed to spot the guard walking away, leaving her completely alone. Pidge fell back to the floor in shock, eyes wide.

Even if her work was finished, she returned to that room like normal. And even if she was kept in the cell, there would always be a guard to watch her. These two coincidences were far too perfect to let the opportunity miss. Almost too perfect.

Pidge felt anxiety seize her heart for the first time in a long while. What if she had been tricked? What if, when she thought she'd been so sneaky and smart, she was really read like a book?

'Take it, or die.'

Pidge told herself, taking a deep breath in. Promptly, she brought up her laptop and shut down the camera that viewed her cell. Her first step was saving her cloaking device onto the memory stick to use on an aircraft later. Next, she uploaded her system of events. With a click on the start button, Pidge's shackles were off and she was on a countdown.

Within the first minute, she needed to be at her work station. Her legs, no matter how weak she had become, carried her effortlessly to the door of her room. It slid open, and she slid out as silently as she could manage. The adrenaline that began pumping in her veins made her feel alive. Her tiredness had been absorbed, along with her hunger. She worked with nothing but her instincts as she sneaked her way to the station.

Within the second minute, she needed to be at the aircraft hangar, residing across from her station. With speed she couldn't even fathom, she whipped across the hallway and under a crate to conceal herself. Her eyes, now wild, darted around for any guards. Upon seeing none in her area, she scrambled onto the top of the nearest spacecraft, her heart slamming into her chest.

Within the third minute, she needed to be inside of the craft and working it out. This would have been fine, if she wasn't halted by a pile of very, very familiar clothing.

Almost flying under the dashboard, she pulled the clothes towards her and searched them relentlessly. Her mind, although alert, was far too confused to register what it truly was. She knew the uniform inside and out, having been asked to modify it when she was still a Paladin.

And she knew that inside each was a microchip containing information about the owner, specifically their whereabouts.

It was as if she had struck gold, the uniform in her hands would lead her back to The Blade of Marmora, which was only one step away from Voltron. Even if she couldn't go back to the castle, she could let them know she was safe, and she could continue her life knowing that they, too, were safe.

With one more thorough scout around the area for guards, Pidge booted up the craft. Loading in the information from the uniform, she sat as it processed the coordinates, her whole body buzzing with anticipation. But before she could even see where her craft was taking her, the cruiser alarms started with a sudden blare.

Her cover had been blown. Not that she'd done much to hide it, anyway. Every thought or feeling she had were soon flushed out by the intense need to survive.

'GO!'

Without thinking, she slammed the dashboard for hyperspeed. The gate to space wasn't even open. But, the craft did as it was told, and slammed straight into the doors, exploding them open. A chain reaction started, and soon the whole hangar was in flames behind her, but she was out.

She was out, although the alarms screeched behind her and guards began piling in. Her faith now resided in her craft as the order for hyperspeed booted up once more. With her heart in her chest, she fumbled with her safety strap and held onto the clothes for dear life.

And with a jolt, she was gone. A third of the way across the universe from her months of torture. Away from her fatigue and away from her hunger. She was free and she was coming back home. Before she could celebrate, she plugged in her stolen memory stick and loaded on the cloaking device, that way she couldn't be tracked. With everything finished, Pidge let out the biggest sigh of relief. Tears pricked in her eyes as she let it sink in.

For the first time in months, she felt happiness wash through her body at the thought of getting her life back.

That was, until she finally checked where the craft was taking her. The coordinates from the chip inside the uniform were a little odd, upon first glance. In fact, they took Pidge's breath away.

With a hard swallow, she sat back up and brought up a map of the universe. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions and waste her newfound relief; she breathed out any anxiety that tried building up. Pidge checked and checked and rechecked the coordinates to the map to just to make sure, but there was no denying it.

Panic set back into her seat as she watched the craft move helplessly towards its destination. Her throat grew dry, her heart screamed at her.

Wherever she was going, it was far, far away from her sights of home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith will appear next chapter, but it was so fun to write as Pidge! I hope you enjoyed it :^)


	3. You and me together like a loved up bruise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title from Dua Lipa's 'Bad Together'  
> \--  
> A team of misfits has formed henceforth.

The small shack provided no shelter from the sun. It certainly didn't protect Keith from the relentless heat. The holes in the ceiling were merciless to his sleeping body. In a pattern of polka dots, he had burns all over his back.

Due to the dusty sky, the place looked like it was in a constant state of twilight; even though the scorch of the sun said otherwise. Unlike the dunes on Texas he was used to, this new planet didn't have an escape from the heat; and without a day-night system, the temperature stayed constant.

It was a struggle. In fact, every ‘day’ was a struggle for Keith as his life stayed silent and his mind screamed for sound. He had nothing to occupy him except constantly hanging up rags to block out light and ration out food from a tin. He would’ve moved to better lodgings if it wasn't for the familiarity of the shack. With working electricity and running water, it was like a silver lining to his stormy life. Even the small appliances like the fridge and sink mirrored that on Earth, Keith couldn't help but grow attached. 

Who could blame him? The last he saw on the aircraft before his crash landing was his distance from The Blade. So far from comfort and familiarity, he clung to anything that made it all seem okay.

But all was not okay. With the hazy skies and barren dust for miles, Keith had nobody but himself. The shack looked as if someone might have lived there once, and that's as close as Keith could get. As he begun the dragging routine that he had every 'day', he began to wonder how he did managed back on Earth for all that time.

Of course. He had the focus of the butchered Kerberos mission to keep him occupied. What did he have now? Menial daily things like washing his face, putting on clothes, and trying to cope. And of course, the company of his bitter mind.

As a Paladin of Voltron, Keith didn't have to do much thinking. He was usually the guy for action and fighting. Even in The Blade, he was spared from most logistical meetings. But now that he was stranded, he had no other option.

His mind replayed, reran, and repeated his fateful mistake on the day he went missing. Keith was headstrong about his decisions, and the one time he was so sure on his choice, was the one time it ended in pieces.

His decision to leave The Blade in search of his mother was the first wrong move. He knew, deep down at the time, that The Blade would do anything to help Keith. But he was hotheaded. He felt like a bomb, waiting to explode as they danced around finding information about his mother. It was right of him to question their reliability.

"But I shouldn't have left." He breathed, teeth clenched as he leant his head against the bathroom mirror; left defeated once more.

He was right: he shouldn't have left. Shouldn't have left Voltron, shouldn't have left The Blade, shouldn't have left that Galra cruiser.

And shouldn't have left the human prisoner behind.

Once tell that his mother was on a Galra cruiser came about, Keith set off like a firework. He disappeared on a mission with The Blade and wound up undercover on the same supposed cruiser. That very day, the Galra had captured an important soldier. Keith's first thought was his mother, like The Blade had told him. He was so hellbent on that fact, that when another guard let slip the prisoner was human, he saw red.

He didn't think about saving his peer. The thought didn't even cross his mind until he was halfway across the universe in a stolen, uncloaked aircraft. The prisoner could've been Pidge's dad, or Shiro, or anyone; but he was blind to that fact. He made himself blind to that fact. That person's suffering was so much his fault that he felt ill to his core.

There was no going back now. His spacecraft had crashed upon impact with this foreign world. A world which he just let the vehicle take him to. He could've ended up in a black hole for all he cared. It was almost twisted that he ended up on a planet that was a constant reminder of his life on Earth.

At least in the past he could survive alone. Now that Keith had been taught what it meant to love and be loved, he didn't know if he could turn back. There wasn't much option once he'd thrown it all away. It felt cruel, unfair even, that things had ended up like this for him. But that was life. Kilometres of space surrounding him couldn't save him from that.

He didn't know where to go from here. He wasn't the Red Paladin of Voltron anymore, nor was he a member of The Blade of Marmora, and no with no means of transport, he couldn't look for his family.

Keith's only identity was his past.

This constant stream of self loathing drove him to exhaustion. Awake for what felt like only five minutes, and he was already fatigued. Just like every other ‘day’, he sat down on the weathered sofa, avoiding the wide strip of sunlight that fell on its left side. He passed his days by rereading the same magazine over and over, trying to make sense of its foreign language. Images of strong warriors clad in leather frequented the pages, inviting the reader into its cause. At least, that's what it looked like. Keith wouldn't know without a translator.

He felt himself yawn, quickly shaking his head to keep awake. If he fell asleep now, he wouldn't sleep again for what would feel like days. But then again, it was rare for him to feel sleepy. Maybe, a little wouldn't hurt…

Nothing short of an explosion. A wave of sound ran through the dismal shack. Keith didn't know what was happening, until he was blown over into the wall, the sun on his back, latching on harder than ever before before.

"Urgh!" He yelped, throwing himself onto the floor. Out of the rays, and into the dust, Keith hadn't registered quite what was going on until he turned round to see the back wall of his small house completely blown over, obliterated. Eyes widening, he scrambled over to it and looked out to the horizon. A huge dust cloud floated in the distance and without thinking it through, he was up and running. Even when the dastard sun enveloped him in its sickly heat, he didn't stop.

As he neared, the foggy air cleared to reveal something which made Keith's heart stop. A Galra cruiser, one identical to what he used to escape. Thoughts ran wild on his head as his feet burned to walk. Like a gift from above, he knew his regrets could finally be sent to rest.

If he was honest with himself, he didn't even care who it was inside the craft. His life for the past months was far too bleak for him to mind who changed it. What he didn't know, though, was that although the cruiser came crashing down, life would only be going up.

\--

Pidge almost cried when she saw where the spacecraft was taking her. Through a glimpse in her hypertravel, she almost swore she saw Earth, until she was hurtled headfirst into a barren planet on its side. Her body may have been deprived of many things, but for her mind to betray her like that was almost cruel.

Throughout the whole journey, Pidge had been unable to sleep. The work that she'd done for her freedom was no little task, but she didn't rest. She couldn't rest. Not when she knew it wasn't Voltron she'd be seeing soon.

Her tiny heart thumped in her chest as she watched the craft edge nearer and nearer to the new planet. As it cut through the atmosphere, it began burning at its sheer speed. The closer the ground got, the tighter she held The Blade uniform, eventually squeezing her eyes.

And the impact was violent. The landing had left the vehicle half submerged in the ground; Pidge had been lost somewhere in the back of the craft as a result, her glasses flying off into the abyss. Still hugging the uniform for dear life, she sat still as she waited for the throbbing pain in her back to subside. It was only when a hot, burning sensation ran up her back did her eyes jolt open. Immediately, she winced. The fresh sunlight was far too unforgiving on her tired eyes, so she closed them again. Blindly, she fumbled toward the dashboard, where the sun couldn't reach.

By the looks of the planet, it was just as bleak as she had seen in space. But the aircraft wouldn't have just taken her to a deserted planet when it had the coordinates of a member from The Blade. Someone must be there, and close by. Although exhaustion racked her bones, she would be safe soon. With a deep breath, she bundled up The Blade uniform and stood up to reach the latch on the ceiling. The sun scorched at her side as she worked it open, but she was far too set on getting out to care. If luck was on her side, which it hadn't been, the member she was lead to would be one she at least knew. She hoped that was the case.

Pidge hissed as her hand touched the metal of the aircraft roof, dropping everything in her arms. The sun had made quick work of heating it, and Pidge practically felt the blisters forming in the brief time it took to pull herself up. She just wrote it off as fuel for her adrenaline, powering through until made it.

Something she hadn't anticipated about coming out of the top of a tilted aircraft, however, was the very, very steep slope to the floor. Almost immediately after getting out, she slipped to the floor. Flailing her arms to catch herself on the aircraft did nothing to stop her body from falling.

The crack that sounded from her head hitting the floor was enough to make her left ear go deaf and her eyes see stars. But Pidge simply didn't have the time, so she breathed in sharply and pulled herself up. Nausea settled into her stomach as her head throbbed, balance tilting. And then, like a flood, everything came rushing at her. A wave of dizziness collided with her already struggling body; a disaster concoction. Her head not only screamed at her, but now she was at the mercy of a blazing sun. Her lack of sleep and food helped in no way at all; she found herself sliding down the side of the aircraft quicker than she could register.

As if that wasn't enough, Pidge began seeing things. Hallucinations were a given, especially since her body wasn't in a good shape to begin with. She'd predicted that maybe Matt or Dad would make an appearance if ever she was to have one. So she was really confused when Keith, breathless and frantic, came running towards her. Even when she lifted from her slump to see straight, even when she'd blinked the haziness out of her eyes, it was still Keith.

She stared at him for a while.

And he stared right back.

\--

Pidge stood. Well, barely, she leant against the side of the spacecraft, but it was Pidge, and she was now sliding down the edge of the spacecraft and--

She looked so ill.

Keith had come to an abrupt stop when he saw the physical state she was in. Unlike his initial thought, she wasn't here to 'rescue' him. The sunken, resigned look in her eyes was tell enough that she was struggling.

Without missing a beat, he bent down to her height and scooped her arm over his shoulders. She complied wordlessly, bracing her legs as they stood up. Running may not have been the best idea, but Keith couldn't do much else when they were on a race against the sun.

When inside, he quickly guided her to the sofa-- on the side without the rays --and began to panic. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to work out just what had made her this way, when she spoke up in a weak voice.

\--

"Water." Pidge breathed. Maybe the relief of being in someone else's care had let her body relax, but that was fatal. Without her tenseness, without her high alert, it just let go. She could feel herself shutting down slowly, but she didn't know what she needed. She couldn't think. She let her body take over. Because she wasn't really feeling at all. Not at that moment.

That was, until, a warm glass was placed in her hand, waking up her senses a bit.

Pulling her body back upright, she took a few sips. The water, although warm, did its job. She felt it travel down, felt it be snatched up by her starved body, and felt the need for more.

Within seconds she gulped it down.

\--

Keith almost choked at how quickly she drank the water. After a tentative first sip, it was like she inhaled the rest. A wordless exchange between Keith and Pidge had him getting more water for her, and even a tin of food he'd been rationing out for himself.

She drank this glass slowly, and ate the food even slower. It was only a few spoonfuls, but by the looks of it, it was her first for a while. She sat back in her seat, allowing Keith to clear everything up

Pidge looked up at him and blinked slowly, shuffling in her seat a bit. Keith raised an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms. He couldn't decipher what she meant, until he noticed the almost black rings around her eyes. After a few gestures and a nod from Pidge, Keith guided her to his usual bedroom. Before she could enter, he made sure the sun was completely blocked out. Tucking enough fabric to leave the room dark, he stepped out of her way. She didn't move at first. Instead, she took Keith's shirt and stared up at him. With the briefest nod, she let go and crawled onto the mattress and under the covers.

Standing in bewilderment, he shook himself back to reality. Once he saw she was safely asleep and comfortable, his muscles released tension he didn't realise they had. Without registering his movements, he fell back onto the sofa. Fatigue washed over his body, as well as a sense of relief, pulling him into a much needed slumber. Now, he wasn't alone. Wordless though she was, Pidge was his new partner as it seemed. He had no clue to her story, and he certainly wouldn't pry if from her. But it didn't matter.

Keith gained back something he'd learned he could never live without: companionship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wanted to add more but it made more sense to put it in the next one. I'm happy with how this one can out in the end!


	4. You've seen that we got the same pain, same scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title from Dua Lipa's 'Bad together'
> 
> \--
> 
> Awoken and ready to save the day.

It had been days.

Pidge lived in a trance-like state. Not lifting from sleep, the only break was if Keith woke her for food or water. But, as he noticed, she was gradually getting healthier.

And as she was, Keith too had become better. His mind was set on something other than those constantly degrading thoughts. Keith found himself smiling at the small twitch of her nose when he would nudge her awake; or sighing in relief at the contentment on her roughed up face; or giggling at her sour looks whenever he'd ask her to stretch and exercise her body.

Along with the gaping hole in the side of the shack, Keith had a lot of work to be doing. All at once, he had become more occupied than he had been for months. It was a miracle-- Pidge was a miracle. Her very existence had flipped turned everything upside down, and Keith couldn't thank her enough. Although, the idea of thanking her for being on the verge of death and miraculously ending up on a secluded planet wasn't exactly the first thing he wanted to say to her. But in time, he'd show his gratitude.

Keith didn't know if it was his imagination, but the days on this planet were getting darker. The heat hadn't shifted, but the sky that was once a beige now dipped more into a subdued sepia tone. The wonder of Pidge had spread so far as to calm down the unbearable sun.

She really was his saviour when he needed it most.

\--

Pidge didn't have half the mind to know where she was, what she was doing, and if anything had changed. The overwork of her body and brain during her escape had completely wiped her clean. But as the time passed, her consciousness gradually returned.

Once in a while, she'd be forced to crack her eyes open and take some food and water; sometimes even stretch her stiff, aching body. Though who by, she had no clue. She wasn't in a state to care either. The most she made of the world around her was how bleak and hot it was.

That was, until, she awoke by herself. Her guardian hadn't come to give her food or water, nor had she been forcibly ejected into some exercise; but she was awake. And now she was, Pidge had to know where she had ended up. However, she hadn't accounted for how out of it she'd still be. With her head throbbing, she grabbed at the room around her to gather her bearings. It was small, for one. Covered in dust, too. The bed beneath her was worn and shapeless, providing her almost zero support as she tried to prop herself upright.

Eventually when she was up, she searched in the darkness. Spotting the way out, she gingerly felt her way out of the comfort of the bed in exchange for a wall and pulled herself to standing. Much to her surprise, the strength in her legs hadn't been robbed from her like she'd expected. They were stable; very stable, in fact. So much so, she threw herself straight into walking.

Her first step was rocky. Transferring weight had cause her balance to dip, but one of the rags on the ceiling had quickly provided her with safety when she grabbed. That was, until, it slipped through the wooden boards onto the floor. A black night sky became exposed, no moon was in sight. She felt herself freeze.

Pidge took a deep breath. It all seemed a bit sinister; but she refused to listen to her thundering heart at the sudden danger of the situation. Someone had cared enough to nurse her back to health, she must be safe, right?

Another tentative step, followed by another, and she'd reached a small corridor. Squinting, she tried adjusting her eyes to the darkness; only spotting a small sofa. And, surprisingly, a huge hole in the wall. There was light enough in the room to make out its distinctive features, and, as Pidge followed the glow with uneasy steps, she found its source.

Tucked away behind another hallway, the light resided. It's strength far too unforgiving on her sensitive eyes. Alarm bells struck her as she flew behind a corner, gaze flickering wildly to spot any movement. The light dipped a few times, but it was so slight that it may have been her imagination. After a few minutes, Pidge couldn't wait any longer, deciding to edge her way over anyway. Her feet were unsteady, often finding herself face first on the wall; but she made it eventually.

With her face against the wall, she fumbled over to face the light source. She was met with a glowing white room; a bathroom. And the one thing that struck her first was its radiance of home. Pidge felt her legs tremble in disbelief. Still, she pushed forward into the world of white and saw that it was just as she spotted, a bathroom from Earth.

Blinking quickly to take it all in, it was real. The bath, the shower, the sink; even the cool but dusty tiles beneath her feet. Giddily, she spun round the room, taking a closer look at it all until--

There was someone in the bath.

Joyful manners dropped, she fell back against the wall and scrambled around the corner quicker than she came. They must have been asleep, she knew, but her mind was far too jumpy to be rational. Clasping at her chest, she made an attempt at regulating her breathing.

That's when Pidge remembered her arrival here. The figure she saw, it was someone she knew, and they were in The Blade. Without noticing, she'd slid onto the dusty floor while deep in thought. The only person she knew in The Blade that was significant enough was--

That was it.

If it wasn't a hallucination, then that was it.

Keith.

Pidge felt energy surge in her muscles as she flew upright, stumbling at her unpracticed balance. It was Keith. Of all people, she ended up with the other ex-Paladin on the other side of the universe. With newfound strength, she marched her way back into the bathroom and over to the bath. Underneath his head lay a folded up towel, another loosely covering his body. Although the clothes he wore were completely unfamiliar, although his face was worn and scarred, it was Keith. Stupid mullet and all.

Her mouth remained tight shut, as the sudden flood of emotions caused her to sway dangerously. Again, she found herself backed against the wall. Her eyes wouldn't leave him. 

When news of his disappearance reached Voltron, it shook them. Pidge had worried sick over him, just like the rest of the team, until Shiro spoke up. As soon as he even suggested 'leaving it be', Pidge was on the defensive. She was viscous about it too, but now he was here, in the flesh, safer than they could ever have hoped for.

She supposed it was inevitable a tear would find its way down her cheek. However, the onslaught that followed was not expected.

Pidge sobbed.

Body racking violently, she shook to the bone with tears. The force had been so violent she fell on her knees. Her whole heart ached at the sight of a friend. Long gone were the days spent starving and wishing in a decrepit Galran cell.

And she had never been happier.

\--  
Awaking to darkness was something that Keith wasn't quite used to yet. The constant days had shifted into moonless nights; the lack of any sort of outside light was jarring to him. But he was much more startled by the small figure leaning against the side of the bath next to him. 

As he had pulled himself into stretch, a head of brunette hair caught his eye. He froze midway, watching intently. After a quick scan, he saw it was in fact Pidge, out of her bed. The soft rise and fall had indicated she was sleeping; how she got there, however, was completely beyond him.

With her forehead pressed against the bath, she sat on her knees. And as Keith shifted to view her more, he felt her tense on him. Her body solidified, fingers twitching uncontrollably. That was when he realised her arm was outstretched to him, hand on his.

With his face falling in surprise, he watched as her hand grabbed at nothing. But once he decided to take her hand gently into his, she relaxed completely. That made Keith want to do anything but move. Nevertheless, her sleeping position would damage her in the long run. And god knows how long she'd been there; Keith didn't want her days of recovery thrown to the wind. 

Reluctantly, he shifted her arms off of him. Pidge groaned quietly, face contorting. A small smile found its way into Keith's face as he watched her, climbing out of the bath.

Once he was awake enough, he stretched his whole body. The bath was far too tiny for him to sleep in, but he wouldn't dare think of moving Pidge. Suffering from a few aching joints was nothing to him if it meant she would be healthy. 

Carefully, he scooped the crumpled up Pidge into his arms again, ready to take her back to bed. Her form had gotten better, he could feel her strength building back up again. Hell, it must have come back since she carried herself all the way here. 

Keith never thought he could care for another human being this much.

\--

Pidge felt herself being pulled up, and felt nausea flood her stomach. Like the time in the prison when she'd be unwillingly taken everywhere, she felt trapped. Logically, she knew that it was her brain still stuck in half sleep, half aware mode that was warping her sense of reality. Her fear, however, was not placebo. She dared not open her eyes until the light left. If they saw her awake, anything could happen.

But when the light had left her, and she cautiously peeked out, she found herself in the area of her dream earlier. The dream where her hallucination of Keith (of all people) was actually real. Where she was safe, and cared for, and saw a huge hole in the wall--

The hole in the wall was still there. Her usual feeling of gnawing hunger was nowhere to be found. And if she just looked up a little bit--

Keith.

Her dream was real. Keith was real. This house with its hole in the wall was real. Her safety was real.

With no thought, Pidge had launched into a tight hug. And Keith, not suspecting the shift in weight, of course stumbled uncontrollably until he hit the sofa.

"Ah!" Keith let out a yelp, knees being pulled under him. Still, Pidge clutched onto him ever firmer, even when she was just laying on top of him. "P--"

"Keith." She breathed. Her voice caught in her throat.

"... Yes, Pidge?" Keith answered in an unsure tone. Her answer was wordless as she tightened her hug.

"My name." She whispered, pulling back slightly. Frazzled brown curtains of hair covered her face as she stared deep into his eyes. Catching Keith's bewildered gaze, seeing him swallow hard, she knew she was in a state similar to him.

"T-That's right. Pidge, your name." Keith stated as a response, eyes glossing over. Quickly, he cleared his throat and looked away. "S-Sorry, it's only just really hit me."

"It's okay." She replied, the faintest trace of a smile on her lips. "You're okay." Intense emotions from before all came flooding back at her once more; tears dragging faster than they could form. "I'm okay."

\----

It had taken a few more days from that for Pidge to get her head on straight. Her primal instincts were all still there, but the actual functioning parts such as memory were lacking. But when she thought about it, maybe they'd left her for longer than she'd caught on. 

Once a stable diet and sleep schedule was put into motion, everything worked more or less well enough. It felt like the dust had been blown off old equipment, thanks to Keith. Her brain wasn't as good as it once was, but with some TLC, it could be even better than new.

She'd even showered. The far too warm atmosphere of the planet had become more bearable the longer she stayed. Her body had adjusted so well that the once warm water tasted cold; the shower served to refresh her. 

One heartbreaking thing for her was losing some of her hair. She'd figured she'd suffer some hair loss because of her malnutrition in the cell, but the sight of clumps pulled out was enough to make her wince. The texture towards the roots was much stronger and softer, seeing as she was actually eating when that bit got to grow. When she was feeling better, she'd find a solution. Her wound from the laser also seemed to heal up considerably too.

Now, it was just clothes. Luckily, the person staying here before them seemed to have left all of their belongings, including their female clothing. It didn't take long for her to pick out all of the essentials, including a purple top and pair of black jeans. As she slipped on the familiar coarseness of the trouser fabric, she was tugged into the familiarity of Earth.

It all resembled her home. The technology, the layout, the equipment, even the clothes. The clothes particularly flagged up in her brain, nowhere in the universe did jeans exist other than Earth. Wearing them was almost nostalgic. 

Due to the only just regained strength in her legs, Pidge couldn't walk far. Coming round from the shower cubicle, she sat herself on the sofa, knees burning with overuse. Her challenge had been to shower while standing, proving to be near impossible. No matter how far Pidge was pushing forward, she still had these robotic feelings chucking her back.

With a quick massage, she disregarded the aches and made a beeline to the half-completed wall. Keith was still sound asleep, and so far she hadn't done anything to help him, so she sat. The bricks beside her were relatively intact, and with the best of her ability, she built them up upon each other.

It took till nearly half way for Keith to stir, in which he quickly flew over to Pidge. Sparing him nothing less of a bored glance, she continued her building.

"Pidge-- just sit down, please." Keith asked her, crossing his arms. Pidge gave a slight pout, but did as he asked and pushed herself off of the ground. "You're impossible, you know that?" A small smile pulled on her lips at that. When (reluctantly) seated, and with Keith taking over, she scanned the room. The electricity in the shack was reasonable. And now the lights were on, she could actually see her surroundings.

Without much movement from her, her eyes flickered across the table in front of her, spotting a magazine. It looked old and worn, but something about it was familiar. Pulling herself upright, she leant forward and picked it up. The glossy covering reflected the light, but when she tilted it up, it left an image of warriors clad in leather.

"That was there when I got here. It's in a language I don't understand." Keith explained, turning to her briefly. Pidge shot him a quick glance, before squinting at the magazine. The language was so familiar to her, the way the symbols were intricate and then switched to curvy. It was as if the symbols were paired with another alphabet, just like…

Pidge froze, breathing halted.

「我々の世界」

"Our world." She spoke, voice stronger than before. Keith snapped round to her. She had rarely spoken, and even if she did, she hadn't ever sounded so certain.

"What?" Keith responded with a knee jerk reaction. Pidge gazed at the pages with wide eyes, beckoning him over. Almost scrambling, he flew by her, her eyes fixed on the magazine. He searched the page to see where she read from, not quite understanding. "Y-You know this language?" He raised a brow at her. Pidge stared at him, pointing to the magazine's title again.

"「我々の世界」, Our world, in Japanese." She emphasised. Keith's face dropped.  
"Japanese? B-But how--?"

"And it has an English version too." She added, scanning through its multiple pages.

"Where does it say that?" Keith's throat had gone dry as he watched her work her linguist magic. Wordlessly, she pointed to a phrase and read it out to him.

"「英訳、近日発売」, English translation coming soon." She replied distractedly, flipping through to the end of the magazine. Pidge stopped again, on the page where Keith had assumed a rebel cause were recruiting members. Her eyes flickered over every inch of its page, before she pulled a face.

"Pidge?" Keith cocked his head to the side. She shook her head in response.

"S-Sorry." She began, clearing her throat. "... When I was coming here, I could've sworn I saw Earth. There's nothing in here about it though."

"Earth was in the same solar system?" He encouraged, making her turn to him.

"I mean kinda, yeah. But if there's nothing in this magazine about earth, I must have been wrong." She dug into the pages as she thought. "At the time I was severely lacking a lot of things, but I never thought I'd hallucinate something like that."

"Maybe you're not wrong?" He suggested, crossing his arms. She pondered for a minute, brows furrowing.

"Well, I thought you were a hallucination at first, so I guess it's a possibility." She nodded, before snapping to him again with touch of a suspicious look on her face. "But-- since when were you an optimist?"

"I'm not." Keith defended flatly. "The exact opposite, actually." Pidge's eyes lightened at that.

"Glad to hear you're the same as ever." She commented weakly.

"Glad to see you got smarter." He responded, smiling in return. They sat in a comfortable silence after that, until Keith spoke up again. "Pidge, you don't have to, but--"

"It's fine." She cut in, nodding reassuringly. "Everything may be a bit hazy, but I'll try."

"You don't have to push yourself." He advised, brow quirking.

"It's time you knew."

\--

Keith sat in awe at Pidge's intense backstory. The courage it must have taken, the pressure she was under; Pidge was incredible.

"That's insane." He muttered after she'd finished. She took a deep breath.

"The worst part about it wasn't even the treatment, it was the thoughts." She said quietly, resting her head in her hands.

"I can understand that." Keith agreed, a serious look in his eye.

"If I hadn't left it on such a negative, maybe I'd feel better but-- I don't know." She lamented. "I still feel like I'm the worst, you know?"

"I know." He replied. Pidge turned to look at him, spotting the solemn look in his face. She opened her mouth to ask something, until he continued. "I know what you're feeling. But, Christ Pidge, you're so incredibly brave."

"Didn't you escape the same cruiser, though? You're pretty brave yourself." She responded. Keith's brows furrowed as he stared at her.

"Where did you get that from?" He asked, crossing his arms. Now it was Pidge's turn to be confused.

"The Blade uniform. It has a tracker in it that locates the owner. The only reason I'm here is because of the coordinates to you." She explained. Keith's face fell pale, as he felt his throat run dry. "Woah-- what's up?"

He didn't reply. Everything began clicking into place the more he thought upon Pidge's story. The fact he went to a main Galra cruiser with cell unit; the fact he was undercover and left his uniform behind; the fact there was a highly important human prisoner that had been just captured--

He felt sick.

"Keith?" Pidge tried. No answer came from him. Instead, he turned to her, and felt himself spiral into guilt. Anger gnawed at him, along with disappointment in himself. He knew that the human prisoner could be anyone, but not Pidge.

He would never have let it be Pidge.

But he had.

"Keith?"

He had done this to her.

Keith had dropped the conversation quickly and almost ran into the bathroom. Pidge heard a click of the door, signalling it was locked. She was far too taken aback to stop him.

\----

"Keith." Pidge knocked on the door. It had been an earth hour since his abrupt departure, there had been no peep from him. "Keith!" She repeated, more urgent than before. Still, no answer.

'Figures'. She thought. He'd always been the brooding one, but that didn't excuse this behaviour.

"Keith, please, what happened?" She tried again. There was a soft 'click' at the door again, before it opened. And there he stood, exuding exhaustion. Pidge could tell by the desperate look he gave her that he didn't want to explain. She looked up at him with her deep, pure eyes. Something inside of Keith stirred again. He couldn't bear it if she knew how horrible he was, but the guilt was too much to bear.

"I could have saved you." He stated, voice low, eyes lower. Pidge tensed as she heard him, hugging herself slightly.

"... How?" She asked.

"I was there because of an important prisoner." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I thought it was my mother."

"But it was me." Pidge filled in the gaps. Keith looked up at her, finding her blank expression. He just wanted to explode; he'd hurt Pidge and if that didn't make him hate himself more than ever--

"Keith, it's okay." She placed a small hand on his arm. Keith snapped out of his head to find himself dizzy and short of breath. Slowly, he inhaled deep in an attempt to calm himself. "It's alright, take a minute." She reassured. Keith brought himself to glance at her. Sure enough, she was comforting him, in the time when he should be with her.

"I'm sorry." He spoke.

"You've no need to be sorry." Pidge countered, staring deep into him with her tired eyes. "I forgive you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant for something VERY different to happen in this chapter but oh well, I'll do it in the next one instead.
> 
> Also the Japanese is:
> 
> 我々の世界: Wareware no sekai // our world
> 
> 英訳、近日発売: eiyaku, kinjitsuhatsubai // English translation, coming soon.


	5. A lot of loss, but what's the matter?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past disappears gradually, over individual minutes.

"Pidge, are you sure?" Keith asked, scissors hovering over a strand of her hair. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

"Yep." Was her simple answer. He raised his brow, hesitating slightly. "Do it, or I'll lose my nerve." She pressed, clenching her teeth slightly. Wordlessly, he closed the scissors at her request. Pidge heard the snip and desperately wanted to shut her eyes and shield herself; instead, she watched as it pitifully fell to the floor.

"That was... a lot." Keith stated, worry etching his tone. Pidge stared for a minute, before shaking her head.

"I-It's fine, I promise." But she'd be lying if she said it didn't make her wince. "It... it needs to go."

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" He tried again. She fidgeted for a second, waiting a beat before speaking again.

"Is there any point in going back now? You've already cut some. And it's either you do it, or it falls out by itself.” She reasoned. Keith looked at her patiently, showing her that wasn't the answer he needed. She huffed, focusing her eyes on the floor. “... I mean, cutting my hair makes me think of becoming Pidge." She explained. "And it'll always be... weird, I guess, but I'll get over it. Besides, this is the opposite of becoming Pidge."

"How come?" Keith resumed his work, keeping her talking as he readied another strand of hair.

"I feel like I'm finally breaking off from what I left behind. Like I'm sorta going back to Katie, going back to who I was before." She finished, embarrassment rising on her cheeks.

"That's... deep." He replied, a slight confused tone. Pidge snorted.

"I guess." She shrugged. Another strand fell from her shoulders. "... I'll be using Katie from now on, if that's cool."

"Yeah, of course." He assured, cutting another piece off. There was a minute of silence between them as more hair fell around Pidge. A bitter feeling pooled in her stomach as the months of her personal history were cut away; it felt like the final tie had been severed. "Are you feeling okay?"

"M-Me?" She began quickly, startled. "Fine... fine." It was a blatant lie, and they both knew that, but Keith wouldn't push her. There was another moment of silence as the Keith was finishing the back of her hair. Thoughts slipped out of her control as they spiralled to memories of Voltron and of Matt and her mother. As Keith had moved round to her front, he saw her blank expression and panicked.

"So... you said that you thought Shiro had really changed just before I left, right?" He asked. Keith had never been much for conversation; but with the look Pidge had in her eye, he knew he needed to get her mind out of the gutter.

"Totally." She started, taking a deep breath as Keith dealt with her fringe. "He was so adamant that you join the blade which just didn't feel right, you know?"

"I understand what you mean." He nodded.

"And I just kept noticing things from then on out. Like how he always took Matt with him and never me, and how it was always about joining with Lotor and never really about fighting Zarkon." She continued, rambling slightly.

"He really changed after he came back. I noticed it too all that time ago." He agreed, styling her hair neatly.

"I mean, I'm not sure about you but, I knew something sketchy was up with him when I saw his haircut." Pidge mused dryly. "I don't know what soldier cut his hair, but they should be fired." She rested her head on her hand, making the comment in passing. But Keith broke into a genuine giggle, withdrawing his scissors. Pidge looked up to him with wide eyes. After staring at him as he calmed down, she spoke up. "That was beautiful."

"What was?" He asked, nonchalantly going back to cutting her hair.

"What you just did." She replied. Keith furrowed his brows as a confused smile spread on his face.

"Laugh?" He took one of the final strands of her hair between his scissors and measured it carefully.

"Yeah, that's something I've never seen you do before." Pidge explained, watching his fingers carefully. They quietened for a moment as he skilfully snipped the strand and let the rest fall into place. Her hair was completed. Standing back from her, Keith observed his work with a prideful look, before meeting eyes with Pidge.

"Then it's gotta be something about you, Katie." He answered her, passing her a mirror. In front of her was a face so familiar to her, yet with its name changed.

"Katie." She smiled up at him. "I like it."

\----

She awoke with a start, heart pounding and chest heaving. Upon instinct she flew up and out of the bed; being met with only the half finished wall and no apparent danger. Katie then realised that it was just a nightmare, and that she should just go back to bed. But something about the way her legs shook and forehead pounded told her to get a drink first.

Her steps had become stronger. She carried herself to and from the kitchen in record time, a glass of water in hand. The sofa, although having severe issues with the springs inside, was far more appealing than the bed right now. Something about being so isolated was the opposite of what she needed right now. Tucking her legs under her, she took small sips of the liquid in an attempt to calm down. Her mother had taught her a useful trick for times like this: naming things she could see, smell, taste, feel, and touch.

Katie could see the dimly lit kitchen in the distance, smell the chemical scent of the shampoo she'd used earlier, taste the bitter-edged water. She didn't feel much, though; just the absence of her hair. A sour feeling hit her as she threaded her fingers through her locks. It was in much better condition, but it didn't feel like her hair anymore. So as to keep herself away from intrusive thoughts, Katie let her hand fall beside her as she listened to the environment around her intently.

That was the one thing about this trick, she never got to the hearing part. Whenever she'd used this technique, it was usually when she was alone and over stress. The most she heard was her own breathing or Bae Bae's footsteps downstairs. Now, she was hearing the shuffle of her feet against the sofa; the tapping of her finger on her skin, the--

"Katie, what's up?" A sound so real and near, she jumped. Her head snapped round to see Keith, a worried expression written on his face as he stood in the doorway. Katie felt a wave of relief wash through her. "Are you okay?"

"S-Sorry." She began, cuddling herself a bit more. He pursed his lips together, crossing his arms. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"I-It's okay-- I was already up." He reassured quickly, feeling a bit awkward in this situation. "Can I... get you anything?"

\--

"No, no, I'm fine..." Katie replied quickly. Something about her expression told Keith otherwise.

"Can I keep you company?" He asked, probably a bit too arrogantly for his liking. But she shifted over in her seat to make room for him. Keith, with a surprised expression on his face, came dutifully over and sat next to her. "So... what happened?" They both kept their gazes forward.

"I had a... nightmare..." Katie replied, slightly trailing off at the end of her sentence. "It was over something so dumb too y'know?"

"I'm sure it wasn't." He replied, leaning his head on his hand. She looked over to him with a confused expression, asking him to explain. "Well... you've only just come out of that terrible Galra place. It may seem far off to you, but for the mind it's much closer."

"... I-I guess you're right." She nodded. "I was back at the Galra prison, except... I was asked to shave my head. That's what got me upset." She shrugged. "It's stupid I know."

"It's not stupid. You should try cutting yourself some slack, Katie." Keith advised, sitting upright now. At that, she snorted.

"That is so rich coming from you." She shook her head, a small smile on her lips.

"What?" He asked.

"You who's Mr 'Leave It To Me!' And 'I Train So Hard It Would Kill Someone Else'. Do you ever cut yourself slack?" She replied.

"Of course. I don't die when I train because I know when enough's enough for my body." Keith explained. "And your ever-powerful brain also knows when it's at its limits. It shut down and went into a coma as soon as you were safe because it was at the breaking point." He continued. "And cutting your hair? That would be enough to send me over the edge as it is." At that, Katie chuckled. "So yeah-- cut yourself some slack, because you can't be so amazing all the time."

"I cannot believe the ex-Paladin of Voltron Keith just lectured me, the Queen of rambling!" Katie joked, cracking a smile. Keith let out a small laugh too. "... But seriously, thank you." She said sincerely. "I've never been kind enough to myself, and it really shows sometimes."

"I'm the same." He nodded.

"Also did you crack a joke near the end of that? Incredible." She teased, making Keith laugh some more. "Who are you?"

"I'm not even sure myself." He shrugged, grinning. There was a small moment of silence between the two in which time Keith noticed Katie was leaning on him.

"You know earlier when you cut my hair?" Katie asked, looking up at him. Keith hummed in response. "You should've just done it like Mulan y'know." She smiled. "One swoop to get it all off."

"What, and ruin my masterpiece?" Keith unconsciously ruffled her hair, making her smile grow wider. He observed his work once more. “... I was actually worried I'd mess it up, but it's good.”

“How come?” She asked.

“My vision got worse, I think. Sometime around Naxzela.” He explained, focusing on his hand. “Slicing your hair was out of the question.”

“Damn, I've missed my opportunity of saving China.” Katie joked. They sat in a comfortable silence for a minute in which they both processed their thoughts. Katie focused on memories of Voltron, Keith on his life before it.

"This one time Lance tried to do a Mushu impression." She spoke quietly, breaking the silence."It was absolutely disastrous." He let out a breathy chuckle at that. "Keith, man, I'm telling you! If we ever meet Lance again, never ever ask him to do it." Katie made an x gesture with her fingers. "Let my mistake be your lesson."

"Okay, okay." Keith nodded, laughing. "I won't ask him to do his impression." He repeated, slumping back into the sofa slightly with a pensive expression on his face. "... It's strange."

"What is?" Katie asked, looking over to him.

"'If we ever meet Lance again'." He quoted. "That's something we may never get to do." Their eyes met for a moment, averting quickly when Katie turned to face ahead of her.

"... I mean... yeah." She nodded, not quite sure what to think. "That's a solid point."

"Have you thought about it before?" He winced as soon as it came out of his mouth.

"Sure, of course." She answered. "I didn't think about much else when I was locked in that cell, if I'm honest."

"It was insensitive of me to ask." Keith apologised. Katie turned to him again with a brow raised.

"I didn't take it as that, more like... it's probably all you've been thinking of too, right?" She explained, searching his face as she said it. He made no comment, instead he met her eyes again and for the first time, she noticed just how purple they truly were.

"I guess I haven't really said much about it, have I?" He finally said, furrowing his brows.

"You never were the most vocal." She replied simply. "But that's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't wanna."

"Explaining is hard for me." He shrugged. "I'm more of a doer."

"I always liked that about you though." Katie slipped in quicker than she could stop herself. Keith's expression fell slightly as he blinked at her. The heat of embarrassment crawled up her neck uncomfortably, jolting her into speech. "I-I mean... I always explain things and go on and on and on and it gets a bit much, don't you think? But you're able to put that meaning into actions and get rid of all the extra that I would use so I guess... it's admirable because it's different?" She reasoned, smiling apologetically towards the end of it. Keith blinked at her once more before nodding slowly.

"That makes sense." He responded. "You respect how I show everything through one clear action since it's the opposite to how you explain when you speak." He summarised, proving her point. She felt the heat rise on her cheeks.

"Yeah..." She breathed. "I ramble far too much."

"It's fine." Keith reassured. "I always found that kind of adorable anyway."

"Well, I would use 'annoying', but whatever you say." She shrugged, brushing off his blatant compliment. At the movement of her shoulders, she felt Keith settle his head onto the sofa cushion behind her and turned to him. "What, you're gonna sleep?" Katie lightly teased.

"Mmhmm, I suggest you do, too." He replied nonchalantly.

"I mean, sure?” She replied, a tone of uncertainty in her voice. But secretly, or maybe not so much, she was grateful to have company at this fragile hour of night. Unbeknownst to her, Keith needed this just as much. He has always thought of a problem shared being a problem doubled.

However this time, with Katie, it seemed to halve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the big thing that was meant to happen last chapter didn't happen this chapter either but it's DEFINITELY in the next one hopefully maybe hhhahshg.
> 
> Also bullshit endings are my speciality get lit.


	6. Onward she presses, through a Moonless Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katie trudges on through the pain, for someone else's sake and her own.

When Katie awoke, she had forgotten she'd even fallen asleep. Rather, her initial reaction was to the feeling of something very warm pressed on her cheek. In her half awake state, she’d acknowledged, but not comprehended, something was there. It wasn't until she shifted her head to the side did she hear a groan of protest, alerting her senses. Cracking an eye open, she waited as it adjusted to the darkness in the room. What she was met with was a completely zonked Keith, cuddled up to her at a very, very close proximity. His arms were tight around her, legs tangled with hers as he slept peacefully. Katie had fallen asleep on her back, her hands loosely gripping his shirt. Their position could only have been described as a koala and a tree, with Keith as the koala.

Being as dazed as she was, she didn't think much of it in the moment. But as soon as he had snuggled in just a bit too close after her shift of movement, she felt herself awaken completely. Katie internally exploded when she felt Keith’s lips brush against her cheek; she flung herself upright. 

"What happened?!" Keith spoke immediately, waking with a start. Katie remained still for a moment, collecting herself in her just-awake state, her eyes hadn’t even the time to awake yet. With her head in her hands, her face sizzled against her palms as her brain tried to understand just what it even panicked for. Feeling a touch to her shoulder, Katie jumped. 

“Pidge?” Keith called, his voice now a sleepier tone. Turning around sharply, she saw him rubbing desperately at his eyes to wake up.

“Oh-- Jeez-- sorry, I didn't mean to alert you.” She apologised.

“No no… it's fine…” Keith drawled in response, stretching his arms in the little proximity between them. Feeling him brush against her back, she’d flown onto her feet before she could register her actions, stumbling awkwardly into the wall. Keith stared at her with a perplexed, groggy expression. After an uncomfortable moment of silence, she cleared her throat.

“Y-You can go back to sleep if you want…” Katie offered, hugging her arms to herself. He gave a confused nod as a response, turning back over on the sofa to sleep again. She didn’t leave straight away, instead she hovered against the wall to fully gather herself. Once she could see he was safely asleep, Katie let slip a sigh she wasn't aware she held.

Just what was going on?

Shakily, Katie took herself to the kitchen and held herself over the sink. Her new appearance stared right back at her in the rusted shine of the metal. Somehow, her face was red and warm upon touch; her hands applying unsteady pressure as she checked her vital signs. She was alive, fortunately.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ she thought, ‘it's only because I just woke up.’ And just like that, she’d written off her funny turn. 

Deciding that sleep was off limits now, Katie frantically rummaged the cupboards she could reach, grabbing whatever was nearest. Out came their usual canned meal, causing her to then stretch for the can opener on top of the refrigerator; the refrigerator which was about 6 feet tall. Honestly, did Keith not realise how short she was? 

After about five minutes of attempting to get a grip on it, she concluded that she was just too short to go further than brushing the edge of the object with her fingertips. Finally, she admitted defeat in knocking it off of the top and picking it off of the ground like a monster with no dignity. 

Setting it down on the side, Katie unceremoniously cracked open her can. And now she had her breakfast, a fresh can of… meat? She'd never actually checked what it was that they ate. The label said something about nutrition, that couldn't kill them, right?

It wasn't so far, that was enough for her; and she’d gone through all that effort to actually get to the damn thing, so she was eating it regardless. Picking up a clean fork from the side, Katie dug into her portion of the tin. She'd leave the rest out for Keith later and wash up the cutlery, for now she'd eat until her body stopped its incessant burning. 

But even when she'd devoured way past her rations, Katie couldn't calm down. So, she set about being productive. She cleaned what she'd used to eat and stretched her legs around the shack. In the meanwhile, her thoughts strayed towards her conversation with Keith yesterday. How he’d stressed over her haircut and laughed about Lance and even opened up about his vision loss. It was out of the blue, in her mind. The Garrison has fixed Matt’s eyesight, so how come Keith was now losing his?

Then the realisation hit her. If Keith had bad eyesight, she could just…

No, she couldn’t.

It was a highly irrational, impractical idea. One that she knew she shouldn't do, one she definitely wasn't intending to carry out, until her body decided to move by itself and all at once she was off and out of the shack. 

Keith was going murder her. But hey, she's doing this for his sake as well. It wasn't as if she was pushing herself for nothing; and she’d be back before he could even wake up, Katie reasoned with herself.

Even with that, she knew this was a mistake. It only took six or seven strides out of the door for her bones to start creaking. Her legs may have gotten stronger and stabler, but seeing as she was already struggling, it was evident that she was nowhere equipped for the distance she was about to travel. But, Katie being Katie, she recklessly ignored the obvious signs of protest and continued on into the night. It was happening whether her body could keep up or not. 

It coped. Katie hadn’t broken anything so far, which was a success in itself. The only hindrance had been the gradual diminishment of light as it fell away behind her. The light emitted from the shack had finally reached its end, making her slow. Katie squinted into the horizon to look for a sign of her destination, immediately finding it blaring out neon coloured lights. She sped into a jog, now knowing that getting there wasn’t a problem.

However, the distance really, truly was. 

Katie could do it. There was no doubt about her ability, the concern was with how long it would take and how deprecating it could be in the long run; things she didn't spare a thought until now she was in the thick of it. At some point, though she wasn’t sure when, her simple stride had become heavier. Each movement threw her body off kilter, but she wasn’t going to stop now. And so, she pushed.

Eventually, about two thirds of the way in, her body was blazing. There was no wind to cool her burning legs, no rain to wash away the dirt either. Although in the dark, Katie could feel the fact her skin was bright red and probably (definitely) drenched. Her once regular walking pattern had turned into an ugly heave of her body from step to step; her breathing just an afterthought. The only thing that had stayed constant was her determination, and that of itself was gradually becoming destructive. 

The further she travelled, the darker it got for her. She was too far away from the shack and too far behind the magenta lights for her to see anything around her. The sky had morphed into a vacuum of light, no moon was there to guide her way, even the soft glow of neon was a struggle to see. But like a miracle, she had made it to the very aircraft she’d set out to find. The same she’d landed on.

Katie fell to her knees, or maybe they buckled beneath her? She hadn’t stopped during her battle to get here, and all at once the exhaustion and pain flooded into her every crack and crevice. Her chest wheezed as she fought for oxygen, coughing at her burning throat. It was going to be a bitch to get back to the shack, but she’d cross that bridge when it arrived. For now, she hauled herself back up on to her legs, much to their dismay, and ungracefully leant on the main window of the aircraft. The light bounced off of the metal inside of the craft, making it easy to see it’s interior. This was a great help to Katie, as she saw the glasses that’d been thrown off her face during the crash landing were on top of--

The Blade of Marmora uniform that she’d used to get here had been folded and left on the dashboard, her brother’s glasses laying neatly on top of them.

Did she have heatstroke? Katie blinked down hard on her eyes, scrubbing at them too for good measure. Yet sure enough, it was all still there. As the bizarreness of the situation faded away, panic set in. What if the person who had done this was still lurking around? What if they found her and were planning something? What if… they folded her too?

She made herself giggle at the last thought, setting her unease aside. Katie wouldn’t let it get in her way of her goal. Keith needed the glasses, that’s what it came down to. She took a few uncomfortable steps around to the side of the ship, sizing up its height while rubbing some of the dirt off of the sandy ground into her fingers. And then, without any further preparation, she threw herself at the aircraft. Katie scrambled at the dimples in the metal, miraculously pulling herself to the door of the craft. With a soft thump, she fell into the pilot’s seat on her back. A comfy landing, but still ugly. 

Unsurprisingly, the uniform and glasses were still as she had found them on the dashboard, and now she needed to work out how she'd carry all of this back to the shack. She'd decided to take the Uniform too, since it would provide her with some technology to tinker with. It really was a case of transporting it all.

Katie placed the glasses on her face, slipping the Blade uniform around her waist to tie both the arms and legs across her. There was absolutely no way she'd fit into it -- she was just too small to fill it out. But now crawling or dragging herself back was out of the question; it looked as though the journey back would be harder, more needed to be taken.

Katie left it a moment before she stood up again, allowing the pilot seat to comfort her exhausted body. During this time of rest, her mind wandered again to what occurred when she woke up. What was that? 

It definitely wasn't anything to do with Keith, that was for certain. Katie wasn't an easily startled person, and she sure didn't know why she'd gone so red and warm Well, she'd know what it meant if it were anybody else.

And of course, Katie wasn't like anybody else!

… Of course!

Katie reassured herself until her face calmed down again, smiling uncomfortably at her own evil mind. She wasn't in a position for anything like that, so she pushed it aside and stood herself up. Everything clicked and everything creaked, but Katie didn't have the time to spare. Newfound determination pulsed through her veins as she made her way out of the aircraft’s roof hatch. With a dull ‘thud’ she’d landed on the sandy ground once more, ready more than ever to work her way back to the shack. 

\--

Keith awoke to a lively house, one he wasn't quite prepared for. Ever since he'd fallen asleep again, he'd had the feeling that something wasn't quite right. With a pounding head and aching body, he rose from the sofa. Across from him rested a half eaten can of food with a glass of water. 

Keith didn't think much of it, seeing as Katie had gotten up before him. He registered how the shower was on too just as he took a bite. These were all very innocent things, so why did it feel like something had changed?

It was as Keith set down his fork that he noticed. The tin he'd been eating from -- had the writing always been so crisp? He could read it from miles away. Looking around the room, he realised that he was also able to see fine details in the bricks of the shack. If he squinted, he could even see the particles of sand.

Had his eyesight repaired overnight?

Keith reached up to his face, only to come into contact with something cool and metallic. Grabbing at it, he felt the unfamiliar object slip off of his face to reveal what it was-- glasses.

Questions ran wild in his mind. Did Katie get these? If so, just how did she get them? And where? Did she really take his talk seriously? Had she gone back--?

“I see that you can see.” Katie’s voice came from across the room. Keith’s head snapped toward her, seeing her hair wet and face smug. 

“That was terrible.” He frowned, staring at her with unimpressed eyes.

“You love it.” She joked, her voice somewhat straining. Katie continued before Keith could ask what was wrong. “Do they work okay? They’re Matt’s old ones, so they're not exactly the best.” She asked, leaning against the wall. He watched her as she spoke, her legs shaking ever so slightly as they held her up.

“Yeah, they’re better than my eyes alone.” He replied, looking up to meet her eyes. “Thank you, a lot.” Keith offered a small smile, which Katie returned.

“I thought I should make myself useful, you did kinda bring me back to life.” She explained, shifting her feet. 

“You've been more useful than you realise.” He responded sincerely. As Katie watched his frame, she observed the intensity in which he looked at her. His eyes were deep, as if they were seeing straight through her. The longer she stared, the more she felt she could understand him. His words carried weight; there was no need for second guessing.

“Thanks.” She said finally, smiling gratefully. There was a moment of silence between them as Katie shuffled her feet again, trying to stop their aching. “I also brought back your Blade uniform to do some tinkering, if you're alright with that.” 

“That's okay, I don't wear it anymore.” He replied, noticing her face grow paler and paler as the minutes passed. “Are you okay, by the way?” Keith asked out of the blue. Katie blinked.

“Yeah, I'm fine. What’s up?” She responded, furrowing her eyebrows. 

“Katie, you're shaking.” He said, the concern evident in his tone. She hadn't even realised it, but her calves had gone numb. Even her hearing and vision had become tunnelled. And was the room always spinning, or was she ignoring it? 

“I, uh.” She began, words becoming slow. As she lifted her hand in front of her face, she noted the weight of her body and how it trembled. “I didn't even…” Before she could finish what she was saying, her vision blackened.

“Pidge!” Keith’s voice came from somewhere distant, but the feeling of his arms around her was something close. He held her as her body went limp against him. “P-Pidge?” She gently squeezed his shirt as a reply. “You're with me?” 

“I’m here.” She croaked out. 

“I'm picking you up, okay?” He warned her, feeling her nod against him. With one swift motion, he lifted her legs with one arm, her back resting against his other. Keith gingerly placed her down on the sofa.

“Thanks.” Katie said, her voice almost a whisper. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes, as her cheeks flushed. “I really, really overdid it.” 

“You don’t say.” He responded, sitting himself next to her.

“Hey-- don’t get scratchy with me.” She joked half heartedly. 

“You're an idiot, Katie.” He replied, crossing his arms.

“I needed to do something, Keith.” She explained casually. “The glasses help you out, and it gave me an excuse to prove myself… I don't know how to say it, but I needed this.” She ended. There was a minute of silence, in which she then added. “Plus, if either of us is the idiot here, it's you. Which one am I, Katie or Pidge?” 

Keith blinked at her. “You're giving me a choice?” She gave a small nod. “And you’re not bothered with what I pick?” She nodded again. 

"I figured if it's you, it doesn't matter what you call me." She shrugged. He pondered for a moment, before meeting her gaze and speaking with a light tone.

“Well then, you're an idiot, Pidge.” Keith finished, smiling fondly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO even is Keith I forgot abt him.
> 
> JUST KIDDIN he's getting a lot more time next chapter!! Which will hopefully be with you sooner than this one was YIKES
> 
> I really apologise for the wait, I've had a lot of health issues recently but I'm back at it now!
> 
> Also I've got a tumblr for people who want to be friends!!  
> @Kisekei-rin  
> Please come talk with me, I'd love to meet some kidge fans to share ideas with (and who can maybe even motivate me to write this more lMAO)  
> Anyway, don't be shy and drop in! I'd be happy to speak with you :^)


End file.
